It’s the age-old question when you go to the nail salon for a full set…do you want gel nails or acrylic nails?
Everyone has different nails, so what works for one person may not work as well for another. Both acrylic nails and gel nails have their pros and cons.
The trick is to know your nail type and what works best for that nail type and your lifestyle. Once you do that, you should be happy with your new full set.
Acrylic Nails
If you are really rough on your nails and need something extra strong, acrylic is probably best for you. This is the hardest nail enhancement there is.
If you have a job using your hands, opening boxes, doing physical labor, or if you just can’t help yourself and like to use your nails as tools in spite of all the pleading from your manicurist not to, then you should probably go with acrylic.
Seriously though, try not to use your nails as tools. These nails will be so hard and strong that if they get ripped off by accident, they can take some or all of your natural nail with it. I’ve seen some pretty bad acrylic nail injuries. Acrylic has no flexibility to it, so if you bang it hard enough, it can be really painful.
One of the cons when it comes to acrylic nails is that sometimes it lifts by the cuticle. This should not happen if your nail technician knows what they are doing. In most cases, you should have no lifting if the nails are properly prepped and the acrylic is applied properly. If it isn’t, lifting will occur.
Acrylic should not ever touch the cuticle or cover the cuticle area as this is what causes the lifting. It should be about 1/16” away from the cuticle. If the acrylic floods the cuticle, your nail technician isn’t doing it right. It is best to be aware of this so you can find a good nail technician.
To maintain acrylic nails, you will have to get a fill-in every 2 weeks. This means that new acrylic is added to any new nail growth. If you wait longer than that, the nails may lift. You don’t want that to happen because once they lift, water gets underneath them and causes mold to grow on your nails.
If your hands are constantly in water, that can cause lifting as well. It would be a good idea to wear gloves if this is the case. Otherwise, acrylic nails may not be right for you.
Oily nail beds will also cause acrylic to lift. If your nail beds are extra oily, you may have more issues with lifting. Your nail technician will remove the oils from your nails before applying the acrylic, but make sure you don’t go more than 2 weeks without a fill-in because the oils can come back and lift the acrylic.
When you decide to remove your acrylic nails, you can soak them off with acetone. However – it takes foreeeeevvveeerrrrr. I drill or file down the surface of the acrylic until there is only a thin layer of acrylic left and then just soak that off. It’s much faster that way and won’t make your nails look like ripped up jeans when the acrylic is off.
For more details on how to remove acrylic nails, read this article.
Gel Nails
Gel nails are way more flexible than acrylic nails, and these days most people choose gel. It is way more forgiving than acrylic, doesn’t lift the way acrylic does, and it looks less bulky and really pretty. Finished off with a gel polish, it shines.
Gel gets cured in a UV or LED light. These lights dry the hard gel and gel polish instantly, so you never have to wait for your nails to dry. You could pay and run out the door. Everyone loves that.
This service is typically much more expensive than acrylic, but it is definitely a favorite in the salon. All the issues that acrylic gave them in the past have disappeared with this product.
Gel nails also look a bit more natural than acrylic nails. They don’t come out as thick looking as the acrylic does.
If you want to remove them, you will have to file them all the way off. Gel is not broken down by acetone the way acrylic is, so it is probably best to just have your nail technician remove it for you. If you want to attempt it yourself, check out this post.
But, like I said earlier, if you are really rough on your nails, you will still need acrylic. I once tried to switch an acrylic client to gel nails and she broke them all immediately. Different things work for different people.
Crossover Services
If you’re into gel polish but need the strength of acrylic, you can use both. You don’t need to have hard gel enhancements to wear gel polish. You can put gel polish right over acrylic as long as the surface is not smoothed out all the way or else it will not stick.
Now they also have polygel, which is supposed to be like a cross between acrylic and gel. While I like the concept of it very much, I personally do not like the product. I know many others who love it, but I did not like working with it and I always broke them.
The good thing about it though is that the dust that gets created when you file is denser, so it mostly just falls rather than flying up in the air and into your nose.
It also comes in different colors and there are very interesting and fun techniques to give you really awesome color patterned nails. I have seen different types of ombre nails being done this way, using anywhere from 2-4 colors and the results are gorgeous.
I’d wear it if I didn’t break them so much.
I hope this has been helpful to you. Never be afraid to ask your manicurist questions so you can find the perfect fit for you.
Have fun, and enjoy those nails, friends!
xo
